


New Years Resolutions

by jugz_betts



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Betty Cooper Loves Jughead Jones, Drug Addiction, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Jughead Jones Loves Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones Needs a Hug, Rehabilitation, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:48:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28498560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jugz_betts/pseuds/jugz_betts
Summary: Six months ago, Jughead Jones dumped Betty Cooper out of the blue before completely shutting himself off from the world as he knew it. But it's a new year and Betty is determined to find out what happened all those months ago and fix whatever went wrong between the two of them. And maybe... just maybe... the two of them can put all of the pieces pack together of the relationship they once knew that was so brutally shattered in the name of darkness.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 11
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1: Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year everyone!! I'm super excited to be posting my first work on here. Just a quick disclaimer, I'll be posting these chapters as I go so please be patient with me. And, I'm going to give ya'll a trigger warning. This work contains themes such as addiction, self harm, relapse, and depressive episodes. So please be careful and read at your own risk. Again, I hope you all enjoy this story and thank you so much for reading :)

"TEN!" 

Betty spots Jughead making his way across the room to her.

"NINE!" 

She smiles at him softly.

"EIGHT!"

He smiles back.

"SEVEN!" 

He comes up to her.

"SIX!"

He hands her a drink, keeping the other for himself.

"FIVE!"

She takes both of them from him and sets them on the table nearby.

"FOUR!"

He frowns slightly and smiles.

"THREE!" 

She winks and puts her hands on his shoulders.

"TWO!"

He sets his hands on her waist.

"ONE!"

She goes in to kiss him.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

He takes her by surprise by wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up. 

Betty's giggle is cut short by him sliding his hand into her hair and bringing her face to his, taking her mouth in a hot, passionate kiss. 

She sighs and wraps her arms around his neck, tilting her head so she can fall deeper and deeper into this kiss. Yes, she was very well aware that the wine being served at Veronica's New Years party was definitely seeping in to their affectionate side, but everyone was too busy clinking drinks and throwing confetti to notice.

He pulls away slightly, but stays close enough so she can feel his words on her lips.

"Happy new year, baby," he presses another soft kiss to her lips, letting it last a little longer than he intended (and she's not complaining). "This is going to be the best year yet." he sets her down, pulling her into his arms.

She smiles and looks up at him before he dips his head down, kissing her again.

"Wanna know how I know?" he raises his eyebrows.

"How?" she smirks, leaning her forehead onto his.

"Because, Betty Cooper, I'm kicking the year off with the only person I'd ever wanna kick it off with." 

She pulls away slightly and looks to her left at Archie, who was downing a bottle of beer.

"Archie?" she frowns, "Well, you better be kissing him, then. Fair warning though, looks like he's gonna have some major beer breath."

"You smart ass," he rolls his eyes and hits her backside lightly. She giggles and wraps her arms back around him. "I'm talking about you."

"I'm glad you are," she says, "Because if you were talking about Archie, I'd be a little concerned."

"Just kiss me again," he mutters.

"Gladly," she grins and pulls him back down. He smiles against her mouth while his hands travel down her waist. When they go a little lower, she slaps them away.

"Okay mister, you save that for later," she chuckles, resting her head on his chest while he hugs her close.

"In all seriousness, Betts," he says softly into her ear, "I wouldn't be where I am now without you. You're the reason I'm still here celebrating year after year. There's nowhere else I'd rather be except here with you. You're the only thing keeping me afloat."

Betty hugs his waist momentarily before pulling away, tears running down her face.

"You keep me afloat too, Juggie," she whispers, pushing a curl off his forehead, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else if it means you won't be there with me. I'm so lucky to have you yet another year. So don't go off and do anything stupid or get yourself killed because a year from now, I want to be doing to same thing we're doing right now. And every year after that."

Jughead wipes a tear off her cheek and cups her face. She leans into his touch and she just knew that he's the one she wants to be with forever. She has the assurance that it'll just be the two of them for as long as they live. It's gonna be okay

"I promise."

~One year later~

The neon lights buzzed loudly as Betty tried her best not to slip on the ice that coated the steps of Pop's diner. It was a little past 3 AM so there weren't any customers, needless to say. Everyone was out celebrating the new year anyways and didn't feel like going to a diner in the middle of the night.  
That is, except for the two people she was meeting here tonight.

Their heads spun around almost in sync when the bell above the door announced her entrance. Betty gave a sheepish smile to Archie and Veronica who were, quite obviously, not happy to be there in the middle of the night.

"Hi guys," she slides into a booth, "Happy new year. Sorry this is such short notice but it just couldn't wait."  
Neither of them said anything, waiting for her explanation.

"Okay," she folds her hands on top of the table and looked at them. It had been a while since the three of them talked. Archie and Veronica had been busy lately with planning their wedding. And as for herself... she was just trying to get by in all honesty and hadn't thought to catch up with them for a while. It was a lot easier for all of them to hang out when it was Archie, Ronnie, Betty, and Jughead. But it hasn't been like that for a while.

"I wanted to talk about Jughead."  
Now they're talking, Veronica kicking it off.

"Betty, it's been months-"  
"You woke us up in the middle of the night to talk about that asshole-"  
"He's got a point, Betty. We haven't heard from him in six months. Ever since he shut himself off from all of us, he's been a ghost.  
And why now? Why would you-"

"Christ would you two let me talk?" she interrupted them, shutting them up. Betty sighed and flattened her hands on the table. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, I want to talk about Jug. And don't worry I'm not gonna sob all over you two again, but I'm worried about him."

They shared a confused look for a second. "Why?" Archie frowns, "Betty, he yelled at you. We were there. He yelled at me and Ronnie before he kicked the us out of his trailer. And then he went on to yell at you before kicking you out as well."

Oh she remembers alright. That was the first time he'd ever yelled at her. Sure, they've had their fair share of fights, but there was never yelling. One thing that kept them going for so long was that they never yelled. It never solved anything and most of the time it gets you so angry you lose all reasoning.

"Because, Archie, I just told you. I'm worried. I'm thinking.... maybe I should go check up on him."

"Betty we've been over this-" Ronnie starts.

"I know," Betty interjects, "But I've been thinking.... have either of you guys seen Jughead ever since that night? Because I sure as hell havent and I can't go on any longer living in the dark, not knowing if he's okay or not."

Archie's looking at his lap and Veronica is staring at her cup of coffee on the table.

"Well? Have you?" Betty pushes.

Veronica sighs before answering.  
"Archie did."

Betty's eyes widen and she turns to him. He gives Veronica a pointed look.

"Is that true?" Betty asked.

"Yeah, I go over every once in a while to bring food and attempt to coax him out but guess what, it's not worth it. I'm telling you, Betty, you're not gonna get much luck. He's stubborn."

She feels like she should be angry but she can't, Jug is the only thing on her mind and she can't give up based off of what Archie said. Nor can she waste any time getting upset over him seeing Jug and not telling her anything about it, even though it did hurt.

"Well then you don't know wether I can get him out or-"

"But I do. Betty, it's bad. He's just basking in it all at this point. He's so far off the deep end that he can't even bring himself to care or leave the trailer and the most we can do is just let him be. If we go he'll just stay longer to try and prove a point or some shit."

Betty can feel tears pricking her eyes. She tells herself over and over that she won't cry. She doesn't want to cry in front of them.

"I just wanna make sure he was okay," she whispers, her voice choking up.

Veronica takes her hands now and she sniffles. "I'm telling you now, he isn't. And I know it hurts you to hear that and you might hate me for it but it's the truth. We've tried all we could but you just can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. If he was as bad as he is now and wanted help, Archie and I would be all for it. But the thing is he doesn't want it and there's nothing we can do to change his mind."

Betty pulls her hands back, shaking her head. "You don't know what I can and can't handle. I know my capabilities so if I have to go to that trailer and face whatever you two are so cautious about, then so be it. I don't care what effect it has on me. It could traumatize me for all I care, it doesn't matter. This isn't about you or Archie or even me. I'm not trying to get him to tell me why he shut all of us out, I just wanna check on him. And I know you said he's bad but I won't take your word for it. We've been though it all, trust me. We've seen each other at our worsts and yeah, it definitely hurts, but I can handle it. I want to see him myself no matter how bad it is. I'm worried about him." 

Her hands are shaking violently by the time she's done and Veronica had tears running down her eyes.

"Archie you should tell her," she whispers and looks at her lap. Betty frowns as her eyes bounce back and forth between the two of them.

"Tell me what?" 

Archie sighs and chews on the inside of his cheek. "Betty, the last time I was there...he.... I- fuck..."

"Archie," tears are running down her cheeks now.

He looks at her, his own eyes glossed over. "Betts, he's been hurting himself."

Betty feels her breathing come to a halt altogether. Her heartbeat is suddenly in her ears and she can't hear anything other than her trying to get some air into her lungs. She looks at Ronnie who has tears lining her eyes again and then back at Archie.

"What do you mean?" she whispers.

"Basically," Archie swallows thickly, "The last time I was there he wouldn't get up off the couch. So I grabbed his arm and he recoiled from me. But it wasn't because he was angry, it was because I hurt him. And maybe I shouldn't have, but I rolled his sleeve up."

She sniffles and wipes quickly at her tears.

"I'm so sorry, Betty," Veronica shakes her head, "But Archie's right. We've done all we could. I saw how much energy it drew out of Archie going in day in and day out trying to get him out of there. It's only going to happen to you too. Fighting with people who don't wanna be helped... it takes a toll on you and before you know it you'll end up just like him."

Betty bites her lip and looks down at her hands. She looks up at them and shakes her head.

"Maybe you two have done all you could, but I haven't," she's grabbing her coat and purse now, feeling a whole new sense of determination. "I'm sorry but if you expect me to let Jughead rot in that trailer, slowly killing himself, then you've got another thing coming.

Before they could say anything, she was out the door and once she heard Veronica say her name, she had already gone halfway down the parking lot. She got in her car, ignoring them calling after her, and drove off.

As she drove down the road leading to Sunnyside trailer park, all she can think of is how completely terrified she is of what she's blindly throwing herself into.


	2. Chapter 2- All Too Well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: referenced past drug use

He definitely wasn't okay.

Betty had fished out her old key to Jughead's trailer prior to arriving. She knew that the moment he saw her, he wouldn't let her in so she'd have to do it herself. 

She walked up the creaky wooden steps leading to his trailer. It was all so familiar to her. She remembers when they were in high school. He parked the car right in front of the trailer and the two of them eagerly hopped out, not even attempting to hide the smiles on their faces. He stood behind her and pressed soft kisses on the back of her neck while she fumbled with the lock. He reached in front of her to grab the doorknob and open the door for her. And the rest.... well, the rest is history.

They were just two teenagers in love. It was all so simple back then. So innocent. She misses it terribly. 

In all honesty, she doesn't think she's ready to see him. Sure, she told Archie all of that stuff about him not knowing her limits and all of that. And while she's right, she's utterly terrified. This is the guy she's loved so passionately for so long and any kind of pain she sees him in tears her apart. Based off what Archie said, she isn't sure what to expect. So she dives head first into the deep end.

Inhaling a deep breath, she knocks on the door a few times. Nothing.   
She does it again, her heart pounding out of her chest and feeling like there's little bits of electricity in her hands that she can't seem to get out. 

He still doesn't answer. Looks like she has to result to breaking in.

It took her a moment to get it considering she was working with a rusty key, lock, and her hands were so numb she couldn't feel them. Not to mention, they were completely shaking from nerves.  
But she finally got the door unlocked.

She was looking forward to at least have a little heating when she walked in, but it never came. The trailer was damn near below zero and she wondered if he was even here. Archie hadn't even been there in a while so maybe Jug had abandoned this place and gotten a new one.

That, or he's been enduring some extremely inhabitable conditions.

She shuts the door behind her and looks around the trailer. It was already dim and dreary enough with it being winter and all, but it looked like she'd just entered the upside down. 

Walking into the living room, she looks around, trying to get at least a little guess of what he's been living in. It was a complete wreck. Beer bottles absolutely everywhere, couch cushions on the floor, takeout boxes flooding the coffee table, and don't even get her started on the kitchen.

She made her way down the hallway and peered into the bathroom which wasn't all too terrible, but that probably meant he hadn't been using it. Betty walked in and pulled the shower curtain back and felt her heart drop to the floor. 

There were needles scattered around bathtub, so many that she could barely see the bottom.

"Christ, Jug," she mutters, not seeming to be able to pull her eyes away from it. Archie said a lot but he never once mentioned drugs.

"It's better than reusing the same one over and over again," comes a voice behind her. Betty jumps and spins around and there he is, standing in the doorway.

Betty felt like her jaw was about to hit the floor when her eyes examined over him. He looked absolutely terrible. His eyes were all puffy and bloodshot and he had dark circles running miles deep. His hair looked like he hadn't showered in a while. And she could smell his breath from a mile away. 

With his sunken in cheeks and dark eyes, she could have sworn he was made in the mind of Tim Burton. The only thing he had that even resembled Jughead was the old beanie on his head

"Jug," she whispered. "You look dead," she wants to say. But she holds herself back from it.

"Betts," he sighs and rubs the obvious sleep away from his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

She walked past him out of the bathroom and he followed her into the living room.

"Jesus," Betty shuddered, suddenly remembering how cold it was in the trailer, "Why's it so cold in here?"

"Heat got shut off," he tosses his beanie onto the couch and then himself following, "Haven't been able to pay the bills in a while."

Betty's eyes widened and she looked around. "So you've been freezing your ass off for...."

"Couple weeks," he murmured. His speech was a little slurred, no doubt from his lips being absolutely frozen from the cold. And among other stuff.

"Jughead," she says softly, sitting on the couch next to him, "What the hell happened to this place?"

Jughead grabbed a beer bottle that had been sitting on the coffee table for god knows how long. "Don't know why you care," he murmured, "Can you leave? I don't even know why you're here."

"I came to check on you, see if you were okay. And you're obviously not."

He just shrugs. She could see why Archie said he doesn't want to be helped, he obviously doesn't. But she's not going to give up that quick.

"Okay. Pack a bag, you're coming home with me."

He gives her a side eye and scoffs. "Yeah, nice try Betts. I'm not gonna be your little new years resolution."

After dating him for 8 years, Betty knew Jughead was stubborn as hell, always has been. But you'd think that living in a 15°F trailer would give him a little nudge out but apparently not.

"I'm surprised you even know what day it is," her voice became stern. She was aware of how quickly she was getting angry but she didn't care. "I didn't come here to play games. Now pack some clothes and get in the car."

"Well then what did you come here to do," he pushes himself off the couch, "Scream in my face? Is this payback? Because listen, I'm sorry Betty. I really am. I shouldn't have put you through that. But I'm a grown man and I don't need you yelling at me to get my shit together."

"Obviously you do," she says, "I came here to see if you were okay and you're obviously not. Jesus christ, Jughead! Look at this place! It's 50 below, there's trash everywhere, and you've been shooting god knows what into your system and it's only a matter of time before you drop dead and I won't have that. Now pack your shit and get in the fucking car or so help me I'll set this trailer on fire."

"Would warm it up a little bit at least," he murmured, walking past her. She follows him down the hallway but he slams his bedroom door in her face, locking it.

"And who's fault is that?" she tells the door. But what's the point? There is none, apparently, but that doesn't stop her. "Because I wasn't the one screaming back then and I'm sorry I am now but it really hurts me to come back here and see how far you've let yourself go. I don't know what triggered that little temper tantrum a few months ago and honestly I would really like to. You had no right blowing up like that and leaving the three of us in the dark while you disappear from the world. We're worried, Jug, there's still people out here who love you, contrary to your belief. We're trying to help you here. Me, Archie, and Ronnie. And you know what? They even told me not to come here but I did and I'm here and I need you to get out of that fucking room and get in the car and grow the fuck up!"

The lock clicks and the door knob is twisting, following by the door swinging open. There he is, bag in hand, his face completely neutral as if he wasn't just screamed at. Betty holds her gaze on him, crossing her arms. He leans close to her face, their noses almost touching.

"Are you ready to go or is there still some left to your little monologue?" he says softly in her face.

Betty glances at his lips and then back to his eyes. She caught his lips flicker into a small smirk and she knew he noticed it.

"Your breath stinks," is all she says before storming down the hallway. He shuts the bedroom door behind him and walks down behind her. She smiles to herself a little. Jughead Jones may be stubborn but he's always been putty in her hands.

Jughead leans his head against the cool glass of the car window as Betty drives back home, gripping the wheel like a vice. It hit him in that moment that that was the first time he'd even been outside in months. He had been locked up in that trailer for a long ass time but it's all a blur to him.

He doesn't remember much from all of those months. He cried... a lot. Most of the time he didn't even know if it was day or night. Maybe Archie had visited him every once in a while. But in all honesty he was just too high off his ass 90% of the time so, in his mind, it all went by in a matter of seconds.

Betty takes her eyes off the road to look over at him. There was finally some color to his face now, thank god. Her car heater and the thick blanket she had in the trunk did a good job of bringing Frankenstein's monster back to life.

He turns his head slightly to her and she quickly centered her eyes back on the road. He smirked a little and looked back out the window.

"I don't have a toothbrush. Or any shower stuff," he says.

"I have it all at my place," she tells him, "Don't worry, you'll be taken care of." He nods and the both of them quiet for the rest of the ride. Jughead's still shivering ever so slightly and all he wants is a nice hot shower.

As soon as they get to Betty's place, she directs him to the bathroom.

"First door on your left, there are towels and a spare toothbrush under the sink and pretty much anything else you'd need."

"Thanks, Betts," he says, walking back to the bathroom, obviously paying no mind to the nickname that slipped out of his mouth.

Betty watches him until he disappears into the bathroom. She sighs and brushes her hands across her thighs and pulls her phone out of her pocket, setting it on the counter. 

She knew Jughead must be absolutely starving so she starts pulling stuff out to make turkey sandwiches. After making one for her and two for Jug, she hops up on the counter and starts eating.

When she turns her phone on, she realizes she has a couple missed calls from Archie so she goes ahead and calls him.

"Where is he?" Archie immediately says when he picks up.

"Hello to you too," she retorts, "Chill out he's with me."

"What?" Archie scoffs, "You're joking."

"Dead serious. He's taking a shower right now."

"Holy shit," Archie says in awe, "You really got him. How? I've been trying to get him out for the past six months."

Betty honestly wished he could see how big she was smiling. She wants to shove it into his pessimistic face. "Told ya he would listen to me."

Archie's quiet on the line and she holds the phone away from her face, making sure she didn't hang up by accident.

"Arch?" she holds it back to her ear.

"What are you doing, Betty?"

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"I mean why are you doing this? And why now?"

Her heart speeds up tenfold and tries to think of anything to tell him other than the truth. The truth being that she got in her car at 1 am, crying as she drove god knows where. 

She missed him, in all honesty. She caught herself reminiscing over how purely happy they were a year before. He promised he'd stay for her and then six months later he shatters it, along with her heart.

But she missed it. She missed him. He held her close that night and said she was the only one keeping him afloat. She told him the same but he could have interpreted that as her just being polite. But it's true, he kept her from drowning into herself and it's a miracle she made it this far without him. She couldn't do it any longer though which is why she found herself on the South Side at around 2 in the morning.

She ended up at the Wyrm, where they fought all those years ago in high school. He pushed her away in fear of himself and it hit her in that moment that maybe that's what he did now. It would make sense right? Blowing up over seemingly nothing when there's a whole lot more going down underneath. What if Jughead was going down and he didn't want to drag her or anyone else with him so he just cut off everyone he knew and loved. That's when she called Veronica and Archie to meet her at Pop's. 

Down the hall, she hears the shower shut off and knows Jug will be out any moment. Saved by the bell.

"Arch, I gotta go, he's out of the shower. Maybe we'll go to Pop's sometime."

"Wait, Betty-" she hangs up and sets her phone down on the counter and she shoves her face in her hands. Archie's right in a way, even though she hates to admit it. What is she doing? She's no professional so how the hell does she expect herself to pull him out of this? What would he even need? Therapy? Rehab? Did he get bad enough to need those things? How bad do you have to be to require it?

Her thoughts are interrupted by Jughead peeping his head out of the doorway.

"Betts, I um... I don't have any clean clothes. Do you have anything?"

Betty hops off the counter and he shuts the door as she walks by. She ransacks her drawers. She didn't even know if she had anything for him to wear. Nothing in the drawers. Making her way to the closet, she goes through just about every article of clothing before she finds it, at the back of her closet. One of Jughead's old "S" shirts.

She carefully takes it off the hanger and holds it to her face, breathing in the scent. It reminds her of simpler times, and it smells like him. Not the Jughead who's been locked in his trailer for six months, but the boy she knew and loved so well. The one that is a complete stranger to the man standing in her bathroom right now.

Unfortunately, he didn't leave any pants behind so she just pulled a pair of flannel pajama pants out of his bag.

"Your clothes are outside the door," she knocks, "I put a pair of your own pants, I don't have any clean ones. But I can do a load of laundry tonight."

"That's good," he pokes his head back out and takes them from her, "Thank you." He smells so much better now, especially his breath.

She smiles softly and goes back to the kitchen.

Jughead comes back out a few minutes later. She didn't realize earlier how thin he had gotten so she's glad she put the extra sandwich on the plate. He looked like he was one pound away from disappearing.

When they were dating, she knew he couldn't cook for shit so she wondered how he even ate when Archie wasn't bringing food over for him.

He reached for his bag that was still sitting by the couch and pulled a hoodie out.

"Was the hot shower not enough to warm you up?" she teases.

"Not quite. This for me?" he points to the plate.

"Yes!" she says, maybe a little too enthusiastically, "Please tell me if you need anything else."

He rolls his eyes and sits on one of the bar stools. "Don't worry, I'm not a kitten you picked up off the side of the road."

She shrugs and tosses him a water bottle. "Might as well be." 

He glares at her before all but wolfing down his first sandwich. She felt bad for him. From the looks of his trailer, he hadn't had much to eat in a while. The flood of fast food trash on his coffee table definitely wasn't enough for six months. And she knew now much he loved to eat she's definitely going to make sure he gets enough to eat while he's here, for however long that is.

He wipes his mouth and gets up to take his plate to the sink.  
"I got it," she takes it from him, "You still hungry? I can make another."

"I'm okay," he sighs, "Thank you, Betty. Really."

She nods and her gaze falls to his hands.

"Juggie, you're shaking," she whispers, touching his hand. His eyes fall to the hand she's holding now.

"It's okay," he brushes it off, "It's not too bad. I just haven't... you know...."

Haven't gotten high in a while.

"I understand."

He gives a tight lipped smile, which didn't do much for the unbearable awkwardness that invited itself into the room.

She looks back at the clock on her stove. It's around 4 in the morning, still early enough to get at least a little bit of sleep in.

"You're tired," he observes, "You should get some sleep. I'm okay on my own."

"You sure?" she turns back to him.

"Yeah," he says, "I should get some sleep too, actually. Maybe that'll make me a little less..."

"Shakey?"

He scoffs and shakes his head. "Sure."

"Okay," she puts his used plate in the sink, "I'll take the couch and you-"

"No," he interrupts, "I'm not taking your bed. The couch is fine"

"Jughead, I've slept on the mattress in that trailer before. I know it's uncomfortable. Take my room."

Jughead was definitely stubborn but he knew damn well that the only person more stubborn than him was Betty.

Before she knows it, he's pulling her into his arms. She tenses up at first but slowly relaxes and wraps her arms around him.

"Thank you, Betty. For all of this."

"Jughead-"

"No," he pulls away, holding her face, "I was so far off the deep end and I didn't even realize it. You pulled me out of that trailer because lord knows I wouldn't be able to do it myself. I don't think I would have if you didn't yell at me like you did." She feels her ears turn hot and she bites her lip.

She doesn't know why he's like this all of a sudden. Less than an hour ago he was more stone cold than the air in the trailer. She even let herself think for a second that maybe he's letting his guard down with her. 

"He's probably just tired," she figures instead. After all, his vulnerability definitely pops out once he hasn't had enough sleep.

"I'm sorry about the yelling."

He shakes his head. "It's what I needed to hear. Archie's been trying to get me out for months, you know. But somehow you always seem to convince me."

She feels his hand moving to her waist and her breath hitches when she realizes how heavy the atmosphere has gotten around him. When she's sure he's about to kiss her, she stops it.

"We should get to bed," she whispers.

He drops his hands and takes a step back.  
"You're right. Night, Betts."

"Night, Juggie. I'll see you.... well, it's already morning, so I'll see you later in the morning."

"It's a date," he winks before turning his back to her and going down to her room.

Once he was gone, Betty's tiredness was really seeping in at this point. She headed over to the couch, flopped on it, and passed out instantly.


End file.
